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Awards Overview

From 2007-2017, the Wells Fargo NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance celebrated CDFI innovation and impact by awarding a total of more than $76 million to 24 pioneering Opportunity Award CDFIs.

In partnership with Opportunity Finance Network, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Prudential Financial, and The Kresge Foundation, the NEXT Awards have helped shine a national spotlight on more than 50 CDFIs for their innovative strategies to expand affordable housing, consumer financial services, community-based health care, and small businesses.

Beginning in 2017, NEXT Awards partners will pilot a new NEXT program—the NEXT Fund for Innovation—to support new business models, platforms, or processes that have the ability to drive transformational change and scale in the CDFI industry. The pilot will provide flexible financing to support these types of innovation.